清淨道論 十八界Visuddhimagga · The Eighteen Elements
十二處把經驗拆成門與境，十八界再進一步：在每一雙門境之外，把識也立成一格——眼、色、眼識，三三相隨，共十八。多出的六格正是要害：連「能知的心」都攤在盤面上了。
「界」唯是無命者的稱謂。世尊說「這個人是六界的」，正為根除命者之想——名字還在，命者不在。經中另見的光界、欲界、六界、無為界等等名目，逐一查名入格，實有的座標只有十八。
鼓面、桴與聲；鏡面、臉與影像；甘蔗、榨機與汁；鑽木、鑽木與火——識是和合中現起的果，不是門後的主人。至於那個最像「我」的意識界，論主給它的畫像是：林中之猿、難調之馬、擲空之杖、上了裝的伶人。
界圖通了電（算給法數、緣給線路），慧地的座標至此立半；根與諦收軸，在下一品。
The twelve bases analyze experience into door and object; the eighteen elements go further by establishing consciousness as a square beyond every door-object pair—eye, visible form, eye-consciousness, six triads making eighteen. The six added squares are the crucial point: even “the knowing mind” has been spread out across the grid.
“Element” is a designation for what is merely lifeless. The Blessed One says, “This person has six elements,” precisely to eradicate the notion of a living principle. The name remains, but no living principle remains. The luminosity element, sensuality element, six elements, unconditioned element, and other names found in the discourses can each be assigned to their proper square; only eighteen coordinates contain what really exists.
Drumhead, drumstick, and sound; mirror, face, and reflection; sugarcane, press, and juice; fire stick, fire stick, and fire—consciousness is an effect manifesting when things come together, not a master behind the door. As for the mind-consciousness element that seems most like “me,” the Commentator pictures it as a monkey in the forest, a horse difficult to tame, a stick thrown into the air, and an actor in costume.
The chart of elements has been electrified: enumeration gives its squares numbers, conditions give it circuitry. Half the coordinate system of the ground of wisdom is now established; the faculties and truths gather it onto its axis in the next chapter.
本單元白話為本編自巴利原典之譯疏（tr. mine）；底本事項詳本單元考據。
§1 十八界之列與決擇之偈 〔CSCD §517〕
界之廣說之論
「其次是諸界」——就是十八界：眼界、色界、眼識界、耳界、聲界、耳識界、鼻界、香界、鼻識界、舌界、味界、舌識界、身界、觸界、身識界、意界、法界、意識界。其中——
依義、依相等等，依次第、依爾所與算， 又依緣、依應見——應當了知決擇之法¹。
§2 界之語義——荷擔與安置 〔CSCD §517〕
其中，「依義」——見故為眼；現色故為色；眼之識為眼識——先依這樣等等的方法，應當依眼等等的別義了知決擇之法。而依通義：它施設，它被持，它是施設之法，由它而被施設，或者在它之中被安置——所以叫作「界」²。因為世間的諸界，在成為因而得確定以後，就像金銀等等的礦施設金銀等等一樣，施設種種的輪迴之苦。並且就像重擔為擔者所持一樣，它們為有情所持——意思是被荷擔著。而它唯是苦的施設而已，因為它不自在。並且以這些為作具，輪迴之苦就為有情所隨施設；而這樣被施設了的〔苦〕，也就在這些〔界〕之中被持——意思是被安置。這樣，眼等等之中的每一法都依其所應而施設、被持等等——依這樣的義而稱為「界」。
§3 界名之三比與「唯無命」之義 〔CSCD §518〕
此外，正如外道所謂的「我」依自性是不存在的，這些卻不是那樣：它們持著自己的自性，所以是「界」。又如在世間，雌黃、雄黃³等等種種山石之分被稱為「界」，這些也同樣像那些界一樣是「界」；因為這些智與所知之分也是種種的。或者，正如對於名為身體的總聚的諸分——對於那些為互不同分之相所限的津液、血液等等——有「界」之名，也應當知道：對於這些名為五蘊的自體之諸分，同樣有「界」之名；因為這些眼等等也是為互不同分之相所限的。此外，「界」這個詞唯是無命者的稱謂。因為世尊在「比丘啊，這個人是六界的」這樣等等之中，正是為了根除命者之想而作了界之教說。
所以，依如上所說的義：它既是眼、又是界，所以是眼界……乃至（廣說如前）……它既是意識、又是界，所以是意識界。先應當這樣在這裡依義了知決擇之法。
§4 相等與次第——因果之次 〔CSCD §519〕
「依相等等」——在這裡還應當依眼等等的相等等了知決擇之法。而它們的那些相等等，就應當依蘊之解釋中所說的方法來了知⁴。
「依次第」——在這裡，於前面所說的生次第等等之中，也唯有說次第是相應的。而這個〔說次第〕是依因與果的前後確定而說的：眼界與色界這二者是因，眼識界是果。一切處都是這樣。
§5 爾所之量——他處所說諸界皆攝於十八 〔CSCD §520〕
「依爾所」——就是依其為那麼多。所說的是這個：在經與論的這裡那裡，還見到「光界、淨界、空無邊處界、識無邊處界、無所有處界、非想非非想處界、想受滅界」，「欲界、瞋恚界、害界、出離界、無瞋界、無害界」，「樂界、苦界、喜界、憂界、捨界、無明界」，「發勤界、精勤界、勇猛界」⁵，「劣界、中界、勝界」，「地界、水界、火界、風界、空界、識界」，「有為界、無為界」，「世間是多界、異界」這樣等等的其他諸界。既然這樣，如果有人問：為什麼不依這一切而作限定，卻唯作「十八」這樣的限定呢？〔那麼答：〕因為一切自性上實有的界都包含在其中。
因為光界就是色界；而淨界則是繫屬於色等等的。為什麼呢？因為它是淨相之故。因為淨界就是淨相，而那是離了色等等就不存在的。或者，作為善異熟之所緣的色等等就是淨界——所以它唯是色等等而已。在空無邊處界等等之中，心就是意識界，其餘的是法界。而想受滅界依自性是不存在的，因為它唯是二界之滅而已。
欲界或者唯是法界。如所說的：「其中，什麼是欲界呢？與欲相應的思、尋、邪思惟。」或者也就是十八界。如所說的：「下以無間地獄為邊際，上把他化自在天諸天包含在內，在這中間所行、所攝的蘊、界、處——色、受、想、行、識，這就叫作欲界。」
出離界就是法界；而由於有「一切善法都是出離界」這樣的話，所以它也就是意識界。瞋恚、害、無瞋、無害、樂、苦、喜、憂、捨、無明、發勤、精勤、勇猛諸界，就是法界。
劣、中、勝諸界唯是十八界而已。因為劣的眼等等是劣界，中的與勝的〔眼等等〕就是中界與勝界。而依究竟義⁶：不善的法界與意識界是劣界；世間的善與無記二者，以及眼界等等，是中界；而出世間的法界與意識界是勝界。
地界、火界、風界就是觸界；水界與空界就是法界。識界就是眼識界等等七識界的略攝。
十七界與法界的一分是有為界；而無為界就是法界的一分。至於「多界異界的世間」，唯是十八界的差別而已。這樣，由於一切自性上實有的界都包含在其中，就唯說了十八。
§6 破命者想與應機而說之偈 〔CSCD §521〕
此外，為了根除那些於以識知為自性的識上作命者之想的人的〔那個〕想，也就唯說了十八。因為有些有情於以識知為自性的識上作命者之想；世尊向他們顯示了那〔識〕依眼界、耳界、鼻界、舌界、身界、意界與意識界的差別而有多種⁷，並且由於其轉起繫屬於眼與色等等之緣而是無常的——世尊想要根除他們長夜隨眠的命者之想，就顯示了十八界。還有什麼呢？同樣也是依所化者的意樂。凡是以這不太略也不太廣的教說而堪受教化的有情，依他們的意樂，也就唯顯示了十八。
因為祂以略與廣的方法， 隨其所宜而那樣那樣地顯示法； 於是所化有情心中的闇，為正法的威光所摧， 剎那之間便歸於消滅。
在這裡就應當這樣依爾所了知決擇之法。
§7 算與緣——十八界之法數與緣之分 〔CSCD §522–523〕
「依算」——先說眼界，它依種類、依眼淨色而唯稱之為一法；耳、鼻、舌、身、色、聲、香、味諸界也同樣，依耳淨色等等〔而稱之為一法〕；而觸界依地、火、風而稱之為三法。眼識界依善異熟與不善異熟而稱之為二法，耳、鼻、舌、身識界也同樣。而意界依五門轉向與善異熟、不善異熟的領受⁸而稱之為三法。法界依三無色蘊、十六細色與無為界而稱之為二十法。意識界依其餘的善、不善、無記識而稱之為七十六法。在這裡也應當這樣依算了知決擇之法。
「依緣」——而在這裡，先說眼界，它依不相應緣、前生緣、有緣、不離緣、依止緣、根緣⁹，以六種緣而為眼識界之緣；色界依前生緣、有緣、不離緣、所緣緣，以四種緣而為〔其〕緣。耳界、聲界等等對於耳識界等等也是這樣。而轉向意界依無間緣、等無間緣、無緣、離緣、無間親依止緣，以五種緣而為它們五者之緣；那五者也〔同樣〕為領受意界之緣。同樣，領受意界為推度意識界之緣，它為確定意識界之緣，確定意識界為速行意識界之緣。而速行意識界對於無間的速行意識界，則以那五種緣加上習行緣，以六種緣而為其緣。這先是五門之中的方法。
而在意門，有分意識界為轉向意識界〔之緣〕，轉向意識界為速行意識界之緣——都以前面的五種緣而為緣。至於法界，則依俱生緣、相互緣、依止緣、相應緣、有緣、不離緣等等，以多種方式而為那七識界之緣。而眼界等等以及一分法界，也依所緣緣等等而為一分意識界之緣。並且對於眼識界等等，不僅眼與色等等是緣，光等等也是。所以先師們¹⁰說——
「緣於眼、色、光與作意，眼識生起。緣於耳、聲、空隙與作意，耳識生起。緣於鼻、香、風與作意，鼻識生起。緣於舌、味、水與作意，舌識生起。緣於身、觸、地與作意，身識生起。緣於有分意、法與作意，意識生起。」
這裡所說的是略；而緣的差別的廣說，將在緣起之解釋中顯明——在這裡也應當這樣依緣了知決擇之法。
§8 應見——鼓鏡甘蔗鑽木諸譬 〔CSCD §524〕
「依應見」——意思是在這裡還應當依應見了知決擇之法。因為一切有為的界都應當依離前際後際、依空無常淨樂我之性、依其轉起繫屬於緣而見。
而在這裡特別是：眼界應當看作像鼓面，色界像桴，眼識界像聲。同樣，眼界像鏡面，色界像臉，眼識界像臉的影像。或者，眼界像甘蔗與胡麻，色界像榨機的輪與杆，眼識界像蔗汁與麻油。同樣，眼界像下鑽木，色界像上鑽木，眼識界像火。耳界等等也是這個方法。
而意界應當依其所應，看作像眼識界等等的先行者與隨行者。
法界之中的受蘊應當看作像箭、像刺。想蘊與行蘊像因受之箭與刺的相應而成的病人；或者，凡夫的想像空拳¹¹，因為它產生希求之苦；〔又〕像林中之鹿，因為它取不如實之相。諸行像把人投入炭火坑的人，因為它們把〔人〕投入結生。生像為王之人所追的賊，因為苦隨逐著它；〔又〕像毒樹的種子，因為它是帶來一切不利的蘊相續之因。色應當看作像剃刀輪，因為它是種種禍之相。而無為界應當依不死、依寂靜、依安穩而見¹²。為什麼呢？因為它是那帶來一切不利者的對治。
意識界應當看作：像林中之猿，因為它於諸所緣沒有確定；像劣馬，因為它難調；像擲向空中的杖，因為它隨處墮落；像舞臺上的伶人，因為它與貪、瞋等等種種煩惱之裝相應。
於為令善人歡喜而造的《清淨道論》中
慧之修習之章裡
名為處界之解釋的
第十五品〔已竟〕。
註
¹ 決擇（vinicchaya）：本論釋一法門之體裁——立數門而逐門定其義，門盡而其法門乃決。本篇之七門即義、相等、次第、爾所、算、緣、應見，逐門之末皆以「應當了知決擇之法」收。前一單元之十二處立六門，其目與此相承而不全同。
² 施設・被持（vidahati・dhīyate）：「界」之通義所本之二語——界施設輪迴之苦，而所施設之苦又為界所持、所安置。
³ 雌黃・雄黃（haritāla・manosila）：山石之中所出、色相各異之礦；論以其種種而喻諸界之雜多。
⁴ 相等等（lakkhaṇādi）：即相、味、現起、近因四事。十八界之四事於本論〈蘊〉之品逐一已立，本篇迴指彼品而不重出——與前一單元之相門同式。
⁵ 發勤界・精勤界・勇猛界（ārambhadhātu・nikkamadhātu・parakkamadhātu）：三者皆精進之異名而所取之義有別；本篇唯舉其名，而下文判其攝於法界。三名之漢讀本編作如上。
⁶ 究竟義（nippariyāyena）：不假方便而直就法之自體說；與「方便義」相對。上文之劣中勝三界為方便義之判，此下為究竟義之判。
⁷ 依眼界等等之差別而有多種：本句之列逐字作眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意界與意識界；所顯之義則在識之非一。
⁸ 五門轉向・領受・推度・確定・速行（pañcadvārāvajjana・sampaṭicchana・santīraṇa・voṭṭhabbana・javana）：五門心路之次第諸位；其全說在本論〈蘊〉之品。
⁹ 不相應緣等等：本篇所舉之不相應、前生、有、不離、依止、根、所緣、無間、等無間、無、離、無間親依止、習行、俱生、相互、相應諸緣，皆二十四緣之目；論自陳其廣說不在本篇而在〈緣起〉之品。
¹⁰ 先師（pubbācariyā）：論所引之前代阿闍梨之說；本篇唯此一處，論引之而不加判。
¹¹ 空拳（rittamuṭṭhi）：空無所有之拳；論以之喻凡夫之想能生希求之苦。
¹² 不死・寂靜・安穩：論以此三而見無為界，其所以即在其為「帶來一切不利者之對治」。
The vernacular of this unit is this edition’s own rendering-with-exposition from the Pāli original (tr. mine); see this unit’s apparatus for the base-text particulars.
§1 The List of the Eighteen Elements and the Verse on Analysis 〔CSCD §517〕
Detailed Discussion of the Elements
“Next, the elements” are the eighteen elements: the eye element, visible-form element, eye-consciousness element, ear element, sound element, ear-consciousness element, nose element, odor element, nose-consciousness element, tongue element, taste element, tongue-consciousness element, body element, touch element, body-consciousness element, mind element, phenomena element, and mind-consciousness element. Of these—
By meaning, characteristic and the rest, order, extent and enumeration, And then by conditions and how they should be seen—the analysis should be understood.¹
§2 The Meaning of Element—Bearing a Burden and Depositing 〔CSCD §517〕
Here, “by meaning”: it is the eye because it sees; it is visible form because it displays form; the consciousness of the eye is eye-consciousness. First, by this method and so forth, the analysis should be understood according to the distinctive meanings of eye and the rest. As to the common meaning: it arranges, it is borne, it is an arranging, through it something is arranged, or in it something is deposited—thus it is an “element.”² For after being determined as causes, the elements of the world arrange the manifold suffering of saṃsāra, just as mines of gold, silver, and the rest arrange gold, silver, and the rest. And as a burden is borne by bearers, so they are borne by beings—that is, they are carried as burdens. It is only an arranging of suffering, because it proceeds without mastery. And with these as instruments, the suffering of saṃsāra is correspondingly arranged by beings; suffering thus arranged is also borne within these—that is, deposited in them. In this way each phenomenon among eye and the rest, as applicable, arranges, is borne, and so forth. From these meanings it is called an “element.”
§3 Three Comparisons for the Name Element and the Meaning “Merely Lifeless” 〔CSCD §518〕
Furthermore, unlike the “self” spoken of by other sectarians, which does not exist by intrinsic nature, these do bear their own intrinsic nature; hence they are elements. Again, just as the various kinds of mountain stone in the world, such as orpiment and realgar,³ are called “elements,” so these are elements like those elements, because these divisions of knowledge and what is known are likewise varied. Or just as the parts of the aggregate called a body—fluids, blood, and the rest, each delimited by a characteristic dissimilar to the others—are called “elements,” so it should be understood that the parts of the individuality called the five aggregates are also called “elements,” since eye and the rest are each delimited by characteristics dissimilar to one another. Moreover, the word “element” is a designation for what is merely lifeless. For in such statements as “Bhikkhu, this person has six elements,” the Blessed One gave the teaching on elements precisely in order to eradicate the notion of a living principle.
Therefore, according to the meaning stated above, it is both eye and an element, hence the eye element … and so on as before … it is both mind-consciousness and an element, hence the mind-consciousness element. The analysis here should first be understood in this way according to meaning.
§4 Characteristic and the Rest, and Order—The Sequence of Cause and Effect 〔CSCD §519〕
“By characteristic and the rest”: here the analysis should also be understood according to the characteristic and the rest of eye and the others. Their characteristics and the rest should be understood by the method stated in the exposition of the aggregates.⁴
“By order”: here too, among the orders of arising and so forth stated earlier, only the order of teaching is appropriate. This [order of teaching] is stated by determining the before and after of cause and effect: the eye element and visible-form element are causes, and the eye-consciousness element is the effect. It is the same in every case.
§5 Their Extent—Every Element Taught Elsewhere Is Included in the Eighteen 〔CSCD §520〕
“By extent” means according to their being precisely this many. What is meant is this: elsewhere in the discourses and treatises there are also found “the luminosity element, beautiful element, infinite-space-base element, infinite-consciousness-base element, nothingness-base element, neither-perception-nor-non-perception-base element, and cessation-of-perception-and-feeling element”; “the sensuality element, ill-will element, harmfulness element, renunciation element, non-ill-will element, and harmlessness element”; “the pleasure element, pain element, joy element, grief element, equanimity element, and ignorance element”; “the element of initiation, element of launching forth, and element of advancing”;⁵ “the inferior element, middle element, and superior element”; “the earth element, water element, fire element, air element, space element, and consciousness element”; “the conditioned element and unconditioned element”; and such other elements as “the world of many and diverse elements.” If so, one may ask, “Why is the limit not established according to all of these, but established as precisely eighteen?” [The answer is:] because every element that really exists by intrinsic nature is included within them.
For the luminosity element is simply the visible-form element. The beautiful element is connected with visible form and the rest. Why? Because it is a beautiful sign. The beautiful element is the beautiful sign, and that does not exist apart from visible form and the rest. Or visible form and the rest as objects of wholesome resultants are the beautiful element; hence it is simply visible form and the rest. Among the elements of the infinite-space base and the rest, the mind is the mind-consciousness element and the remainder is the phenomena element. The cessation-of-perception-and-feeling element does not exist by intrinsic nature, since it is only the cessation of two elements.
The sensuality element may be only the phenomena element. As it is said: “Therein, what is the sensuality element? Thought associated with sensuality, applied thought, and wrong intention.” Or it may be all eighteen elements. As it is said: “With the Avīci hell as its lower boundary and the devas wielding power over others’ creations included at the upper boundary, the aggregates, elements, and bases—form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—that occur and are included between these: this is called the sensuality element.”
The renunciation element is the phenomena element; and because it is said that “all wholesome phenomena are the renunciation element,” it is also the mind-consciousness element. The elements of ill will, harmfulness, non-ill-will, harmlessness, pleasure, pain, joy, grief, equanimity, ignorance, initiation, launching forth, and advancing are the phenomena element.
The inferior, middle, and superior elements are simply the eighteen elements. Inferior eye and the rest are the inferior element; those that are middle and superior are the middle and superior elements. In the ultimate sense,⁶ the unwholesome phenomena element and mind-consciousness element are inferior; the mundane wholesome and indeterminate elements, together with the eye element and the rest, are middle; and the supramundane phenomena element and mind-consciousness element are superior.
The earth, fire, and air elements are the touch element; the water and space elements are the phenomena element. The consciousness element is a brief designation for the seven consciousness elements beginning with eye-consciousness.
The seventeen elements and one part of the phenomena element are the conditioned element; the unconditioned element is one part of the phenomena element. As for “the world of many and diverse elements,” it is only the differentiation of the eighteen elements. Thus, because every element that really exists by intrinsic nature is included within them, only eighteen are stated.
§6 Eradicating the Notion of a Living Principle and the Verse on Teaching According to Disposition 〔CSCD §521〕
Furthermore, only eighteen are stated in order to eradicate the notion held by those who conceive a living principle in consciousness, whose nature is cognizing. Some beings conceive a living principle in consciousness, whose nature is cognizing. To them the Blessed One showed that [consciousness] is manifold according to the distinctions of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements and the mind-consciousness element,⁷ and that it is impermanent because its occurrence depends on conditions beginning with eye and visible form. Wishing to eradicate the notion of a living principle that had lain dormant in them throughout the long night, the Blessed One showed the eighteen elements. And what else? He likewise did so according to the dispositions of those to be guided. For beings capable of being guided through a teaching neither too brief nor too detailed, he showed only the eighteen in accordance with their dispositions.
Because by methods both brief and detailed, He shows the Dhamma in whatever way is fitting; The darkness within the hearts of those to be guided, struck by the radiance of true Dhamma, In a single moment comes to dissolution.
The analysis here should be understood in this way by extent.
§7 Enumeration and Conditions—The Number of Phenomena in the Eighteen Elements and Their Conditional Relations 〔CSCD §522–523〕
“By enumeration”: first, the eye element is counted as only one phenomenon by kind, namely eye-sensitivity. The ear, nose, tongue, body, visible-form, sound, odor, and taste elements are likewise counted as one phenomenon each, beginning with ear-sensitivity. The touch element is counted as three phenomena, according to earth, fire, and air. The eye-consciousness element is counted as two phenomena, wholesome resultant and unwholesome resultant; the same applies to the ear-, nose-, tongue-, and body-consciousness elements. The mind element is counted as three phenomena: five-door adverting and wholesome-resultant and unwholesome-resultant receiving.⁸ The phenomena element is counted as twenty phenomena: the three immaterial aggregates, sixteen kinds of subtle materiality, and the unconditioned element. The mind-consciousness element is counted as seventy-six phenomena, according to the remaining wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate consciousnesses. The analysis here should be understood in this way by enumeration.
“By conditions”: here, first, the eye element conditions the eye-consciousness element in six ways—by dissociation, prenascence, presence, nondeparture, support, and faculty conditions;⁹ the visible-form element conditions it in four ways—by prenascence, presence, nondeparture, and object conditions. The ear and sound elements condition ear-consciousness, and so forth, in the same way. The adverting mind element conditions those five consciousness elements in five ways—by proximity, contiguity, absence, disappearance, and proximity decisive support conditions; those five likewise condition the receiving mind element. In the same way, the receiving mind element conditions the investigating mind-consciousness element; that conditions the determining mind-consciousness element; and the determining mind-consciousness element conditions the impulsion mind-consciousness element. An impulsion mind-consciousness element conditions the immediately following impulsion mind-consciousness element in six ways, by adding repetition condition to those five. This is first the method at the five doors.
At the mind door, the life-continuum mind-consciousness element conditions the adverting mind-consciousness element, and the adverting mind-consciousness element conditions the impulsion mind-consciousness element—each by the preceding five conditions. As for the phenomena element, it conditions the seven consciousness elements in many ways, by conascence, mutuality, support, association, presence, nondeparture, and so forth. The eye element and the rest, together with one part of the phenomena element, also condition part of the mind-consciousness element by object condition and so forth. And for the eye-consciousness element and the rest, not only eye and visible form and the rest are conditions; light and the rest are conditions too. Therefore the earlier teachers¹⁰ said—
“Dependent on eye, visible form, light, and attention, eye-consciousness arises. Dependent on ear, sound, an aperture, and attention, ear-consciousness arises. Dependent on nose, odor, air, and attention, nose-consciousness arises. Dependent on tongue, taste, water, and attention, tongue-consciousness arises. Dependent on body, touch, earth, and attention, body-consciousness arises. Dependent on the life-continuum mind, phenomena, and attention, mind-consciousness arises.”
What has been stated here is in brief. The detailed divisions of conditions will become clear in the exposition of dependent arising. The analysis here should also be understood in this way according to conditions.
§8 How They Should Be Seen—The Similes of the Drum, Mirror, Sugarcane, and Fire Sticks 〔CSCD §524〕
“By how they should be seen” means that the analysis here should also be understood according to how the elements should be seen. For all conditioned elements should be seen as devoid of a prior and later limit, empty of the nature of permanence, purity, pleasure, and self, and proceeding in dependence on conditions.
In particular, the eye element should be regarded as like a drumhead, the visible-form element like the drumstick, and the eye-consciousness element like the sound. Likewise, the eye element is like the surface of a mirror, the visible-form element like a face, and the eye-consciousness element like the reflected image of the face. Or the eye element is like sugarcane and sesame, the visible-form element like the wheel and shaft of a press, and the eye-consciousness element like sugarcane juice and sesame oil. Likewise, the eye element is like the lower fire stick, the visible-form element like the upper fire stick, and the eye-consciousness element like fire. The method is the same for the ear element and the rest.
The mind element should be regarded, as appropriate, as the forerunner and follower of the eye-consciousness element and the rest.
Within the phenomena element, the feeling aggregate should be regarded as like an arrow and a thorn. The perception and formations aggregates are like a sick person afflicted through contact with the arrow and thorn of feeling. Or an ordinary person’s perception is like an empty fist,¹¹ because it generates the suffering of expectation, and like a deer in the forest, because it apprehends a sign contrary to reality. Formations are like people who cast someone into a pit of glowing coals, because they cast one into rebirth-linking. Birth is like a thief pursued by the king’s men, because suffering follows it, and like the seed of a poisonous tree, because it is the cause of an aggregate-continuity that brings every harm. Materiality should be regarded as like a razor wheel because it is the sign of manifold calamity. The unconditioned element should be seen as deathless, peace, and security.¹² Why? Because it is the opposite of what brings every harm.
The mind-consciousness element should be regarded as like a monkey in the forest because it has no fixity among objects; like a bad horse because it is difficult to tame; like a stick thrown into the air because it falls wherever it may; and like an actor on a stage because it is associated with the costumes of manifold defilements such as greed and ill will.
In the Visuddhimagga, composed to bring joy to good people,
In the division on the development of wisdom,
The exposition named “Bases and Elements,”
The fifteenth chapter, is concluded.
Notes
¹ Analysis (vinicchaya): the treatise’s format for explaining a doctrinal scheme—it establishes a set of modes and determines the meaning through each in turn; once the modes are exhausted, the scheme has been analyzed. This unit’s seven modes are meaning, characteristic and the rest, order, extent, enumeration, conditions, and how the elements should be seen. Each closes with “the analysis should be understood.” The preceding unit on the twelve bases established six modes, which succeed but do not exactly match these.
² Arranges and is borne (vidahati・dhīyate): the two verbs underlying the common meaning of “element.” An element arranges the suffering of saṃsāra, while the suffering thus arranged is in turn borne and deposited within the elements.
³ Orpiment and realgar (haritāla・manosila): minerals produced in mountain rock and differing in color and appearance. The treatise uses their variety as a simile for the multiplicity of the elements.
⁴ Characteristic and the rest (lakkhaṇādi): characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause. These four aspects of the eighteen elements were established individually in the treatise’s chapter on the aggregates. This unit refers back to that chapter instead of repeating them, in the same manner as the mode of characteristic in the preceding unit.
⁵ The element of initiation, element of launching forth, and element of advancing (ārambhadhātu・nikkamadhātu・parakkamadhātu): all three are names for energy, though each takes a different aspect. This unit gives only their names and below assigns them to the phenomena element. The present edition uses the English readings above.
⁶ In the ultimate sense (nippariyāyena): spoken directly in terms of the phenomena themselves, without a figurative or indirect mode; contrasted with a meaning stated indirectly. The preceding classification of inferior, middle, and superior elements is indirect, while the classification that follows is in the ultimate sense.
⁷ Manifold according to the distinctions beginning with the eye element: the literal list in this sentence is eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements, together with the mind-consciousness element. The meaning shown is that consciousness is not one.
⁸ Five-door adverting, receiving, investigating, determining, and impulsion (pañcadvārāvajjana・sampaṭicchana・santīraṇa・voṭṭhabbana・javana): the successive stages in the five-door cognitive process. Their full explanation occurs in the treatise’s chapter on the aggregates.
⁹ Dissociation condition and the rest: the conditions named in this unit—dissociation, prenascence, presence, nondeparture, support, faculty, object, proximity, contiguity, absence, disappearance, proximity decisive support, repetition, conascence, mutuality, and association—are all members of the twenty-four conditions. The treatise itself says that their detailed explanation belongs not to this unit but to the chapter on dependent arising.
¹⁰ Earlier teachers (pubbācariyā): the statement of earlier ācariyas cited by the treatise. It appears only once in this unit, and the treatise cites it without adjudication.
¹¹ Empty fist (rittamuṭṭhi): a fist containing nothing. The treatise uses it as a simile for the perception of ordinary persons because that perception generates the suffering of expectation.
¹² Deathless, peace, and security: the treatise says that the unconditioned element should be seen in these three ways, because it is “the opposite of what brings every harm.”
界在門與境之外把「識」也立進座標：十八界拆到連「能知的心」都成了無命的一格
大局 — 慧地的座標系（下半）
前一單元的十二處，是六門對六境；本單元在每一雙門境之外再立其識——眼、色、眼識，耳、聲、耳識，如是五組，加意界、法界、意識界，成十八界。多出來的正是要害：十二處還可以讓人把「能知」藏在門後，十八界把識也攤在盤面上，連「能知的心」都成了一格一格可數的法。論主換了一偈、立七門——義、相等、次第、爾所與算、緣、應見（白話 §1）——體裁與前單元相承而目不全同：多了「算」與「緣」，因為識一入座標，法數與緣起的線就得交代。本單元也是全品的收束，品末奧書在焉。〔所見〕
§01 十八界之列與決擇之偈 → 白話 §1
十八界逐名列出，六組三三相隨：眼界、色界、眼識界，乃至身界、觸界、身識界，末以意界、法界、意識界收。一偈立七門：依義、依相等等、依次第、依爾所與算、依緣、依應見而了知決擇之法（白話 §1）。〔讀法〕與前單元的六門對讀：相門併入「相等等」、略廣門讓位給「算」、新增「緣」門——目錄的增刪本身就標出十八界與十二處所務之異。
§02 界之語義——荷擔與安置 → 白話 §2
別義同前式（見故為眼、現色故為色、眼之識為眼識）；通義釋「界」（dhātu）：它施設、它被持、它是施設之法、由它而被施設、或在它之中被安置。世間諸界如金銀之礦施設金銀，這些界則施設種種輪迴之苦；如重擔為擔者所持，它們為有情所荷擔；苦以它們為作具而被隨施設，施設了的苦又在它們之中被安置（白話 §2）。〔讀法〕「界」的語義全繞著苦轉：礦出的是苦、擔著的是苦、安置的還是苦——座標系不是中性的檔案櫃，它是輪迴之苦的產地與倉庫。
§03 界名之三比與「唯無命」之義 → 白話 §3
三重比況：外道所謂的「我」依自性不存在，界卻持著自己的自性；如世間雌黃、雄黃等山石之分稱「界」，智與所知之分也種種故稱「界」；如身體的津液、血液等互不同分之分稱「界」，五蘊自體之諸分亦然。而後點題：「界」這個詞唯是無命者的稱謂——世尊說「這個人是六界的」，正是為了根除命者之想（白話 §3）。〔讀法〕這一節把本品的刀口亮出來了：界說之所以立，不為分類而分類，是要在「人」字底下換上十八個無命的零件——名字還在，命者不在。
§04 相等與次第——因果之次 → 白話 §4
相等門一句迴指〈蘊〉之品（與前單元相門同式）。次第門：此處也唯說次第相應，而其理是因果的前後——眼界與色界是因，眼識界是果，故因先果後；一切處都是這樣（白話 §4）。〔讀法〕十二處的次第依明顯與饒益，十八界的次第依因果——同是「說次第」，理據隨法門而換，這正是逐門決擇的功夫所在。
§05 爾所之量——他處所說諸界皆攝於十八 → 白話 §5
經論他處另見諸界之名：光界、淨界、四無色處界、想受滅界；欲界、瞋恚界、害界、出離界、無瞋界、無害界；樂苦喜憂捨無明諸界；發勤、精勤、勇猛三界；劣中勝三界；地水火風空識六界；有為界、無為界；「世間是多界、異界」——既有這許多，何以唯限十八？答：一切自性上實有的界都攝在其中。逐一收編：光界即色界；淨界繫屬色等；無色處界之心是意識界、餘是法界；想受滅界自性不存在（唯二界之滅）；欲界或唯法界、或即十八界全體；出離界是法界亦是意識界；瞋恚乃至勇猛諸界是法界；劣中勝唯是十八界之等差（究竟義則不善的法界意識界劣、世間善無記與眼界等中、出世間的法界意識界勝）；地火風是觸界、水空是法界、識界是七識界之略攝；十七界與法界一分有為、無為界是法界一分；多界異界唯是十八界之差別（白話 §5）。〔讀法〕這是一場大收編：名目再多，實有的座標只有十八格——凡在經中另立名者，或是十八之別名，或是其一分，或（如想受滅界）根本不是一個自性法。讀者由此學到的不是十八這個數，是「查名入格」的手藝。
§06 破命者想與應機而說之偈 → 白話 §6
再答何以唯說十八：有些有情於以識知為自性的識上作命者之想，世尊為根除其長夜隨眠之想，顯示識依眼耳鼻舌身意界與意識界之差別而有多種、且繫緣而無常；又依所化者的意樂——堪受不太略不太廣之教者，為之說十八。偈云：祂以略與廣的方法隨宜顯示法，所化有情心中的闇為正法的威光所摧，剎那歸於消滅（白話 §6）。〔讀法〕同一個十八，兩個理由：一是治病（把「能知的我」拆成七個識界），二是應機（略廣得中）。前一單元之末說門境上無作者，本節進一步說連識也不是命者——十八界的成立本身就是破執的處方。
§07 算與緣——十八界之法數與緣之分 → 白話 §7
算門逐界給數：眼耳鼻舌身與色聲香味九界各一法、觸界三法（地火風）、五識界各二法（善不善異熟）、意界三法（五門轉向與二領受）、法界二十法（三無色蘊、十六細色、無為界）、意識界七十六法。緣門先說五門：眼界以不相應、前生、有、不離、依止、根六緣為眼識界之緣，色界以前生、有、不離、所緣四緣為緣，耳聲等同式；轉向意界以無間、等無間、無、離、無間親依止五緣為五識之緣，五識為領受意界之緣，領受為推度、推度為確定、確定為速行之緣，速行對無間之速行更加習行緣成六緣。意門則有分為轉向、轉向為速行之緣，皆以前五緣；法界以俱生、相互、依止、相應、有、不離等多方式為七識界之緣；眼界等及一分法界依所緣緣等為一分意識界之緣。且不僅門境是緣，光、空隙、風、水、地與作意也是——故先師說：緣於眼、色、光與作意，眼識生起，乃至緣於有分意、法與作意，意識生起。廣說讓給〈緣起〉之品（白話 §7）。〔讀法〕算門讓每一格有了法數，緣門讓格與格之間有了線——十八界至此不是靜物畫，是一張通了電的線路圖；五門心路（轉向、領受、推度、確定、速行）在這裡以緣的身分過了一遍，其全說在第 14 品，緣的廣說在第 17 品。
§08 應見——鼓鏡甘蔗鑽木諸譬 → 白話 §8
末門應見：一切有為的界，依離前際後際、依空無常淨樂我之性、依繫緣轉起而見。特別的譬喻成串：眼界如鼓面、色界如桴、眼識界如聲；如鏡面、臉與臉的影像；如甘蔗胡麻、榨機輪杆與汁油；如下鑽木、上鑽木與火——耳界等同法。意界是五識界的先行者與隨行者。法界之中：受蘊如箭如刺；想行二蘊如中箭之病人，凡夫之想又如空拳（生希求之苦）、如林中之鹿（取不如實之相）；諸行如把人投入炭火坑的人（投入結生）；生如為王人所追的賊（苦隨逐）、如毒樹之種；色如剃刀輪（種種禍之相）；無為界依不死、寂靜、安穩而見（是一切不利者的對治）。意識界如林中之猿（於所緣無定）、如劣馬（難調）、如擲空之杖（隨處墮落）、如舞臺伶人（與貪瞋等煩惱之裝相應）（白話 §8）。品末奧書：於為令善人歡喜而造的《清淨道論》中，慧之修習之章裡，名為處界之解釋的第十五品已竟。〔讀法〕鼓與聲、鏡與影、蔗與汁、鑽與火——四喻同說一件事：識是和合中現起的果，不是躲在門後的主人。而意識界的四喻（猿、馬、杖、伶人）值得單獨帶走：那個你以為最「是我」的心，論主給它的畫像是竄樹的猴子和上了裝的演員。〔所見〕
給一般讀者
十八界比十二處多立了六個識界，用意只有一個：把「能知的心」也放上解剖臺。用的時候取三聯：門、境、識——聽見聲音時，是耳界、聲界、耳識界三格和合，像鼓面、桴與聲，缺一則無，而三者裡沒有一個是「聽者」。若嫌十八格太繁，記住兩端即可：收，則一切界不出名色；觀，則格格離前際後際、空、繫緣——連意識界也只是林中之猿。根與諦把這張圖收進「苦與苦之止息」的軸心，請看下一品；緣的全圖在第 17 品。
想讀本單元全文：白話 §1–§8 即十八界之列與七門之偈、界之語義三重比況、他界收編、破命者想、算與緣、諸譬與品末奧書的全段逐段全譯。
Beyond door and object, the elements put consciousness itself onto the coordinate grid: the eighteen elements analyze even “the knowing mind” into one lifeless square
The Big Picture — The Coordinate System of the Ground of Wisdom, Second Half
The twelve bases of the preceding unit are six doors paired with six objects. This unit adds the corresponding consciousness to every pair: eye, visible form, eye-consciousness; ear, sound, ear-consciousness; and so through five triads; add mind element, phenomena element, and mind-consciousness element, for eighteen elements in all. What has been added is the crucial point. With the twelve bases, one might still conceal “the knower” behind the door; the eighteen elements spread consciousness itself across the grid, turning even “the knowing mind” into countable phenomena, square by square. The Commentator changes the verse and establishes seven modes—meaning, characteristic and the rest, order, extent, enumeration, conditions, and how the elements should be seen (vernacular §1). The form succeeds that of the preceding unit but does not exactly match it: “enumeration” and “conditions” are added, because once consciousness enters the grid, the count of phenomena and the lines of conditionality must be stated. This unit also closes the whole chapter and contains its final colophon. 〔Observation〕
§01 The List of the Eighteen Elements and the Verse on Analysis → Vernacular §1
The eighteen elements are listed in six groups of three: the eye element, visible-form element, and eye-consciousness element, through the body element, touch element, and body-consciousness element, closing with the mind element, phenomena element, and mind-consciousness element. A verse establishes seven modes: the analysis should be understood according to meaning, characteristic and the rest, order, extent and enumeration, conditions, and how the elements should be seen (vernacular §1). 〔Reading〕 Read this alongside the six modes of the preceding unit. The mode of characteristic is expanded to “characteristic and the rest,” brief and detailed treatment gives way to “enumeration,” and “conditions” is added. These changes in the table of contents themselves identify the different work performed by the eighteen elements and the twelve bases.
§02 The Meaning of Element—Bearing a Burden and Depositing → Vernacular §2
The distinctive meanings follow the preceding pattern: it is eye because it sees, visible form because it displays form, and eye-consciousness because it is the consciousness of the eye. The common meaning explains “element” (dhātu): it arranges, it is borne, it is an arranging, through it something is arranged, or in it something is deposited. As worldly mines arrange gold and silver, these elements arrange the manifold suffering of saṃsāra. As a burden is borne by its bearer, the elements are borne by beings. Suffering is arranged with them as instruments, and the suffering thus arranged is deposited within them (vernacular §2). 〔Reading〕 Every strand in the word’s meaning turns around suffering: what the mine produces is suffering, what is borne is suffering, and what is deposited is suffering. The coordinate grid is not a neutral filing cabinet; it is both the place where the suffering of saṃsāra is produced and the storehouse where it is held.
§03 Three Comparisons for the Name Element and the Meaning “Merely Lifeless” → Vernacular §3
There are three comparisons. The “self” posited by other sectarians does not exist by intrinsic nature, but the elements bear their own intrinsic nature. Just as the various mountain minerals of the world, such as orpiment and realgar, are called elements, the divisions of knowledge and what is known are called elements because they too are varied. And just as fluids, blood, and other mutually dissimilar parts of the body are called elements, the parts of the individuality called the five aggregates are elements because each is delimited by a different characteristic. Then comes the point: the word “element” is a designation for what is merely lifeless. The Blessed One says, “This person has six elements,” precisely to eradicate the notion of a living principle (vernacular §3). 〔Reading〕 This section reveals the blade of the entire chapter. The element teaching is not classification for classification’s sake; it replaces what lies beneath the word “person” with eighteen lifeless components. The name remains, but no living principle remains.
§04 Characteristic and the Rest, and Order—The Sequence of Cause and Effect → Vernacular §4
The mode of characteristic and the rest refers back in one sentence to the chapter on the aggregates, just like the mode of characteristic in the preceding unit. As to order, only the order of teaching is appropriate here, and its rationale is the before and after of cause and effect: the eye element and visible-form element are causes; the eye-consciousness element is the effect. Causes therefore precede effect, and the same applies throughout (vernacular §4). 〔Reading〕 The twelve bases are ordered by evidentness and benefit, while the eighteen elements are ordered by cause and effect. Both are “orders of teaching,” but the rationale changes with the doctrinal scheme. This is precisely the work of analysis mode by mode.
§05 Their Extent—Every Element Taught Elsewhere Is Included in the Eighteen → Vernacular §5
Elsewhere the discourses and treatises name many other elements: luminosity and beauty; the four immaterial bases and the cessation of perception and feeling; sensuality, ill will, harmfulness, renunciation, non-ill-will, and harmlessness; pleasure, pain, joy, grief, equanimity, and ignorance; initiation, launching forth, and advancing; inferior, middle, and superior; earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness; conditioned and unconditioned; and “a world of many and diverse elements.” With so many names, why limit the count to eighteen? Because every element that really exists by intrinsic nature is included within them. Each is assigned in turn: luminosity is the visible-form element; beauty is connected with visible form and the rest; in the immaterial-base elements, mind is the mind-consciousness element and the remainder the phenomena element; the cessation-of-perception-and-feeling element is no phenomenon existing by intrinsic nature, but only the cessation of two elements; the sensuality element is either the phenomena element alone or all eighteen; the renunciation element is the phenomena element and also the mind-consciousness element; the elements from ill will through advancing are the phenomena element; inferior, middle, and superior are gradations of the eighteen—in the ultimate sense, unwholesome phenomena and mind-consciousness are inferior, mundane wholesome and indeterminate phenomena together with eye and the rest are middle, and supramundane phenomena and mind-consciousness are superior; earth, fire, and air are touch, while water and space are phenomena; consciousness is the seven consciousness elements in brief; seventeen elements plus part of phenomena are conditioned, while the unconditioned is part of phenomena; and many and diverse elements are only differentiations of the eighteen (vernacular §5). 〔Reading〕 This is a comprehensive act of reassignment. However many names occur, only eighteen squares contain what really exists: another scriptural name is either a different name for one of the eighteen, one portion of it, or—as with the cessation-of-perception-and-feeling element—not itself a phenomenon with intrinsic nature. What the reader learns here is not merely the number eighteen but the craft of assigning names to their proper squares.
§06 Eradicating the Notion of a Living Principle and the Verse on Teaching According to Disposition → Vernacular §6
There is another reason for stating only eighteen. Some beings conceive a living principle in consciousness, whose nature is cognizing. To eradicate the notion that has lain dormant through the long night, the Blessed One shows that consciousness is manifold according to the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements and the mind-consciousness element, and that it is impermanent because it depends on conditions. He also teaches according to the dispositions of those to be guided: for those suited to a teaching neither too brief nor too detailed, he teaches eighteen. The verse says that he shows the Dhamma in brief and detailed ways according to what is fitting, and the darkness in the hearts of those to be guided, struck by the radiance of true Dhamma, dissolves in a moment (vernacular §6). 〔Reading〕 The same eighteen has two reasons: it treats an illness, by analyzing the “I that knows” into seven consciousness elements, and it suits the audience by holding a middle course between brevity and detail. The preceding unit ends by saying that no agent stands among doors and objects; this section goes further: consciousness itself is not a living principle. Establishing the eighteen elements is itself a prescription for abandoning attachment.
§07 Enumeration and Conditions—The Number of Phenomena in the Eighteen Elements and Their Conditional Relations → Vernacular §7
The mode of enumeration gives a count for each element. The nine eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, visible-form, sound, odor, and taste elements are one phenomenon each; touch is three phenomena, earth, fire, and air; the five sense-consciousness elements are two each, wholesome and unwholesome resultants; the mind element is three, five-door adverting and the two kinds of receiving; the phenomena element is twenty, the three immaterial aggregates, sixteen kinds of subtle materiality, and the unconditioned element; the mind-consciousness element is seventy-six. The mode of conditions first treats the five doors. The eye element conditions eye-consciousness by six conditions—dissociation, prenascence, presence, nondeparture, support, and faculty—while visible form does so by four—prenascence, presence, nondeparture, and object; ear and sound follow the same pattern. The adverting mind element conditions the five sense-consciousness elements by proximity, contiguity, absence, disappearance, and proximity decisive support; the sense consciousnesses condition receiving, receiving conditions investigating, investigating determining, and determining impulsion; one impulsion conditions the next by those five plus the repetition condition. At the mind door, life-continuum conditions adverting, and adverting conditions impulsion, by the preceding five. The phenomena element conditions the seven consciousness elements in many ways; eye and the rest and part of the phenomena element also condition part of mind-consciousness. Nor are door and object the only conditions: light, aperture, air, water, earth, and attention also serve. Hence the earlier teachers say that eye, visible form, light, and attention condition eye-consciousness; the sequence continues through the final case, in which life-continuum mind, phenomena, and attention condition mind-consciousness. The detailed account belongs to the chapter on dependent arising (vernacular §7). 〔Reading〕 Enumeration gives each square its count; conditions draw the lines between squares. The eighteen elements are no longer a still life but an electrified circuit. The five-door cognitive process—adverting, receiving, investigating, determining, and impulsion—passes through here in the role of conditions. Its full account is in Chapter 14, and the full account of conditions in Chapter 17.
§08 How They Should Be Seen—The Similes of the Drum, Mirror, Sugarcane, and Fire Sticks → Vernacular §8
The final mode concerns seeing. All conditioned elements should be seen as devoid of a prior and later limit, empty of the nature of permanence, purity, pleasure, and self, and proceeding in dependence on conditions. Then comes a chain of similes. The eye element is like a drumhead, visible form like the drumstick, and eye-consciousness like sound; or like a mirror, a face, and its reflection; or sugarcane and sesame, the press’s wheel and shaft, and juice and oil; or the lower fire stick, upper fire stick, and fire. The same applies to the ear and the rest. The mind element is forerunner and follower of the five sense-consciousness elements. Within the phenomena element, feeling is like an arrow and thorn; perception and formations are like a sick person struck by them; an ordinary person’s perception is like an empty fist, generating the suffering of expectation, and like a deer in the forest, grasping a sign contrary to reality; formations are like someone casting a person into a pit of glowing coals, because they cast one into rebirth-linking; birth is like a thief pursued by the king’s men, because suffering follows it, and like the seed of a poisonous tree; materiality is like a razor wheel, as a sign of manifold calamity; the unconditioned element should be seen as deathless, peace, and security, the opposite of every harm. The mind-consciousness element is like a monkey in the forest, with no fixed object; a bad horse, difficult to tame; a stick thrown into the air, falling wherever it may; and an actor on a stage, costumed in defilements such as greed and ill will (vernacular §8). The chapter’s colophon follows: in the Visuddhimagga, composed to bring joy to good people, within the division on the development of wisdom, the fifteenth chapter, named the exposition of bases and elements, is concluded. 〔Reading〕 Drum and sound, mirror and reflection, sugarcane and juice, fire sticks and fire: all four similes say the same thing. Consciousness is an effect manifesting when conditions come together, not a master concealed behind the door. The four portraits of mind-consciousness—monkey, horse, thrown stick, and actor—are worth carrying away by themselves. The mind that seems most like “me” is pictured by the Commentator as a monkey leaping through the forest and an actor in costume. 〔Observation〕
For the General Reader
The eighteen elements add six consciousness elements to the twelve bases for one purpose: to place “the knowing mind” on the dissecting table as well. In use, take a triad—door, object, consciousness. When a sound is heard, the ear element, sound element, and ear-consciousness element come together like drumhead, drumstick, and sound. Without any one of them there is no hearing, yet none of the three is a “hearer.” If eighteen squares seem too many, remember the two ends: contracted, all elements are no more than name-and-form; contemplated, every square is devoid of a prior and later limit, empty, and dependent on conditions—even the mind-consciousness element is only a monkey in the forest. The faculties and truths gather this chart onto the axis of “suffering and the cessation of suffering” in the next chapter; the complete map of conditions is in Chapter 17.
To read this unit in full: Vernacular §§1–8 is a complete, paragraph-by-paragraph translation of the list of eighteen elements and verse on seven modes, the meanings and three comparisons for element, the inclusion of other elements, the eradication of the notion of a living principle, enumeration and conditions, the similes, and the chapter’s final colophon.
考據Apparatus
一、科判定位
譯底 本單元之譯底＝CSCD（內用不上站）。本層一切巴利逐字取自本單元原典欄之譯底，定位一式：〔CSCD §NN〕式對譯底欄逐字可核。本品無自家對頁之巴利，故頁域一概不記。
篇名 譯底欄自帶 ### 行 1 個，即本篇之科題 ### Dhātuvitthārakathā（品題行在前一單元，不入本篇）。科題與本篇之全幅同度——本篇即該科之全，兼收本品之結頌與品末之標。
段號域 譯底欄之段號自〔CSCD §517〕至〔CSCD §524〕，實落段號 8 個，號序連續無缺。本篇於譯底欄之幅為 11,852 位元組，為本品二單元中之大者。
七門之框 本篇之骨為論主自設之七門決擇，其目立於〔CSCD §517〕之偈：Atthato lakkhaṇādīhi, kama tāvatvasaṅkhato; 與 Paccayā atha daṭṭhabbā, veditabbo vinicchayo.——七門即義、相等、次第、爾所、算、緣、應見。其答之所在，本欄逐一反查譯底欄：義門答於〔CSCD §517〕至〔CSCD §518〕・相等門與次第門並答於〔CSCD §519〕・爾所門答於〔CSCD §520〕至〔CSCD §521〕（其幅獨大，兼收一偈）・算門答於〔CSCD §522〕・緣門答於〔CSCD §523〕・應見門答於〔CSCD §524〕。七門之答俱在本篇之內，無一門溢出。
七門與前篇六門之異 前一單元之決擇偈作 Attha lakkhaṇa tāvatva, kama saṅkhepa vitthārā;（六門），本篇之偈增「緣」（Paccayā）與「算」（saṅkhato）而不出「略廣」一目——二篇之框相承而目數不同，本目誌其實而不代裁其所以。
相等門之答唯一句而迴指他品 〔CSCD §519〕之相等門作 Tāni ca pana nesaṃ lakkhaṇādīni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni——論自標其相味現起近因已於蘊之品說竟，於此不重出。此與前一單元之相門同式（彼作 Tāni ca pana tesaṃ lakkhaṇāni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni，唯 tesaṃ／nesaṃ 與 lakkhaṇāni／lakkhaṇādīni 二字之異），本目誌其實。
前後接點 前承十二處之單元：本篇首句作 Tadanantarā pana dhātuyoti aṭṭhārasa dhātuyo——論自標其為「其次」，逐字承前篇之收句 Idaṃ tāva āyatanānaṃ vitthārakathāmukhaṃ.。後接根諦之品：本篇以品末之標收（Āyatanadhātuniddeso nāma 與 Pannarasamo paricchedo.），次品之首單元即以 Dhātūnaṃ⋯anantaraṃ uddiṭṭhāni pana indriyānīti bāvīsatindriyāni 逐字承之——論自標之續。
movement 品夾《總覽》繫本單元於 §B〈十八界〉一節；其所繫之章§逐字見該表，本目不重錄、不截取——段號與章§二系不明對映，不推估不換算。
二、詞義與譯語
本目只記本篇用法與其定位；名相定讀以規範詞表為準，詞表所未定者，本目不代定。前此諸品已立之讀不重解——本篇所涉之既立詞為 dhātu（界）・āyatana（處）・manodhātu／manoviññāṇadhātu（意界／意識界）・dhammadhātu（法界）・voṭṭhabbana（確定）・javana（速行）・bhavaṅga（有分）・cakkhupasāda（眼淨色）・nijjīva（無命）・rittamuṭṭhi（空拳）・paṭisandhi（結生）・saṃsāra（輪迴）・kāmāvacara／rūpāvacara／arūpāvacara（欲界／色界／無色界）・lokiya／lokuttara（世間／出世間）・oḷārika（粗）・veneyya（所化）・vedanā・saññā・saṅkhāra・viññāṇa（受・想・行・識）・二十四緣之名（vippayutta・purejāta・atthi・avigata・nissaya・indriya・ārammaṇa・anantara・samanantara・natthi・vigata・upanissaya・āsevana・sahajāta・aññamañña・sampayutta 諸緣）。以下唯列本篇新出者。
十八界之名〔CSCD §517〕
| 巴利 | 本編用語 | 本篇用法之要 | 定位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| cakkhudhātu・rūpadhātu・cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | 眼界・色界・眼識界 | 十八界之首三；論以 cakkhatīti cakkhu. Rūpayatīti rūpaṃ. Cakkhussa viññāṇaṃ cakkhuviññāṇanti 逐語自釋 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| sotadhātu・saddadhātu・sotaviññāṇadhātu | 耳界・聲界・耳識界 | 次三；論以 evamādinā tāva nayena 一語括其餘而不逐出 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| ghānadhātu・gandhadhātu・ghānaviññāṇadhātu | 鼻界・香界・鼻識界 | 第三組 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| jivhādhātu・rasadhātu・jivhāviññāṇadhātu | 舌界・味界・舌識界 | 第四組 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| kāyadhātu・phoṭṭhabbadhātu・kāyaviññāṇadhātu | 身界・觸界・身識界 | 第五組 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
界之語義〔CSCD §517〕–〔CSCD §518〕
| 巴利 | 本編用語 | 本篇用法之要 | 定位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| vidahati・dhīyate・vidhāna・vidhīyate | 施設・被持・施設之法・所施設 | 界之通義四釋；論以 ettha vā dhīyatīti dhātu 收之 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| dukkhavidhānamatta | 唯苦之施設 | 論自限其義：世間諸界唯施設輪迴之苦，以其不自在 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| avasavattana | 不自在 | 上語之所以；界不隨己力而轉 | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| attano sabhāvaṃ dhārenti | 持其自性 | 界名之第一釋；別於外道所立之我 | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| ñāṇañeyyāvayava | 智與所知之分 | 界名之第二釋所繫；諸界如山中種種之礦而雜多 | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| aññamaññavisabhāgalakkhaṇaparicchinna | 為互不同分之相所限 | 界名之第三釋；如身分之各有其相 | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| nijjīvamatta | 唯無命者 | 界名之第四釋；論以之為破命者想之語 | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| jīvasaññāsamūhanana | 命者想之根除 | 論自標世尊說界之意趣 | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
爾所之量與應機之說〔CSCD §520〕–〔CSCD §521〕
| 巴利 | 本編用語 | 本篇用法之要 | 定位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ābhādhātu・subhadhātu | 光界・淨界 | 他處所說諸界之首二；論判前者即色界、後者繫於色等 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| subhanimitta | 淨相 | 淨界之體；論以其不離色等而攝之 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu | 想受滅界 | 他處所說諸界之一；論判其自性非有，唯二界之滅 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| hīnadhātu・majjhimadhātu・paṇītadhātu | 劣界・中界・勝界 | 三界之判；論分方便說與不方便說二層 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| nippariyāyena | 究竟義而言 | 上判之第二層之領語；依先例勝從緣起之品既立之 nippariyāyena・pariyāyena＝究竟義・方便義，本欄原提「不方便而言」，誌之 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| sabhāvato vijjamāna | 自性上實有者 | 攝入之準；一切自性實有之界皆入十八 | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| veneyyajjhāsaya | 所化之意樂 | 立十八之第二由；隨所化之機而說不略不廣 | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
| anatisaṅkhepavitthāra | 不太略亦不太廣 | 上語之界；本篇之偈以之收 | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
| saddhammateja | 正法之威光 | 結偈之語；以之破所化心中之闇 | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
算與緣〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕
| 巴利 | 本編用語 | 本篇用法之要 | 定位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| saṅkhaṃ gacchati | 稱之為 | 算門之定式；十八界逐界言其為幾法。依先例勝從見清淨之品既提之讀，本欄原提「算為」，誌之 | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| pañcadvārāvajjana | 五門轉向 | 意界三法之一 | 〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕 |
| sampaṭicchana | 領受 | 意界三法之一；亦為緣門五門路之一位 | 〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕 |
| santīraṇa | 推度 | 緣門五門路之一位，屬意識界 | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
| vīsati dhammā | 二十法 | 法界之算；三無色蘊、十六細色與無為界 | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| chasattati dhammā | 七十六法 | 意識界之算；餘善不善無記識 | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| āloka・vivara・vāyu・āpa・pathavī | 光・空隙・風・水・地 | 先師之語所出，五識各別之第三緣 | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
| pubbācariyā | 先師 | 論所引之他說之標；本篇唯此一處 | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
應見之諸譬〔CSCD §524〕
| 巴利 | 本編用語 | 本篇用法之要 | 定位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pubbantāparantavivitta | 離前際後際 | 應見門之總標之一 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| bheritala・daṇḍa | 鼓面・桴 | 第一譬之二支，配眼界與色界 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| ādāsatala・mukhanimitta | 鏡面・面之影 | 第二譬之二支 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| ucchutila・yantacakkayaṭṭhi・ucchurasatela | 甘蔗與胡麻・榨機之輪與杆・蔗汁與麻油 | 第三譬之三支 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| adharāraṇī・uttarāraṇī | 下鑽木・上鑽木 | 第四譬之二支，火喻眼識界 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| purecara・anucara | 先行者・隨行者 | 意界之喻；於五識界之前後而行 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| sallā・sūla | 箭・刺 | 法界中受蘊之喻 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| vanamigo | 林中之鹿 | 想之喻；取不如實之相 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| aṅgārakāsu | 炭火坑 | 行之喻；行以結生投人於中 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| visarukkhabīja | 毒樹之種 | 生之喻；為蘊相續之因 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| khuracakka | 剃刀輪 | 色之喻；為種種禍之相 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| araññamakkaṭo・assakhaḷuṅko・vehāsakkhittadaṇḍo・raṅganaṭo | 林中之猿・劣馬・擲空之杖・舞臺之伶人 | 意識界之四喻 | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
須併觀之三處 ①十八界之漢名逐名由既立之二讀合成——-dhātu 之讀從規範詞表之 dhātu（界），cakkhu 等六內名與 rūpa 等六外名之讀從蘊品既立之列；manodhātu・manoviññāṇadhātu・dhammadhātu 三名於前品之詞條已立，本目不重立。②ghāna（鼻）・kāya（身）・phoṭṭhabba（觸）・rasa（味）四字之單字條目於既有諸品之詞條中無獨立條目（本欄逐詞比對所得），本篇依其複合名一併提之，其單字之讀以俟來哲。③二十四緣之名於本篇以複合形密集出現（如 vippayuttapurejātaatthiavigatanissayindriyapaccayānaṃ 一詞連綴六緣），其定讀在前品之詞條而非本篇，本目唯誌其所出之位而不重解。
三、異讀
材料之面 本篇無自家對頁之巴利，故無校勘段可錄；可查之面唯譯底欄自身。誌錄不判。
普查之實測 譯底欄全篇逐字普查：異讀括注式（(sī.)・(syā.)・(kaṃ.)・(pī.) 等）零命中；異誦之標識詞 pāṭho 零命中；異說之標識詞 Porāṇā／porāṇā 零命中（本篇之他說標識作 pubbācariyā，另族）。方括注唯二式（[§NN] 段號 8 個與版頁記 11 個，後者皆在註記之內）。查無即記無：譯底欄自身無異讀之記。
引號之對稱 全篇 '' 實測 26 處為偶數。其密集之處在〔CSCD §520〕之他界列舉——一列之內開合相間十餘次，逐處成對，無不對稱者。
本欄自出之一處字面之不齊 〔CSCD §520〕之他界列舉，其括注之繫時在引號之內、時在引號之外：''pathavīdhātu, āpodhātu, tejodhātu, vāyodhātu (dī. ni. 3.311), ākāsadhātu, viññāṇadhātu'' 一列之括注落在引號之內而其列未竟，餘列之括注皆落在收引之後。誌其字面不改、不代移。
本欄之界 上列皆為譯底欄之字面之實；未與 PTS 掃描頁對勘。本欄之零命中唯就譯底欄一面，不以之推斷他本。
四、論主引據
論主自引之處，逐處繫段號錨；出處唯本文自標者記之，不代考定。「本文自標之出處」欄之括注逐字照錄，不代譯其經名。
| 位置 | 引式〔逐字〕 | 所引之要 | 本文自標之出處 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §518〕 | bhagavā ''cha dhāturo ayaṃ bhikkhu puriso''tiādīsu | 六界之人——世尊為破命者想而說界之據 | (ma. ni. 3.344) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''ābhādhātu, subhadhātu, ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu | 七界之列 | (saṃ. ni. 2.95) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''kāmadhātu⋯avihiṃsādhātu'' | 六出離界之列 | (vibha. 182; dī. ni. 3.305; ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''sukhadhātu, dukkhadhātu, somanassadhātu, domanassadhātu, upekkhādhātu, avijjādhātu'' | 六受與無明之界 | (vibha. 180; ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''ārambhadhātu, nikkamadhātu, parakkamadhātu'' | 三精進界 | (saṃ. ni. 5.183) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''hīnadhātu, majjhimadhātu, paṇītadhātu'' | 三劣中勝界 | (dī. ni. 3.305) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''pathavīdhātu, āpodhātu, tejodhātu, vāyodhātu | 四大與空識二界 | (dī. ni. 3.311) 與 (ma. ni. 3.125; vibha. 172) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''saṅkhatadhātu, asaṅkhatadhātu'' | 有為無為二界 | (ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''anekadhātu nānādhātu loko''ti | 世間多界異界 | (dī. ni. 2.366; ma. ni. 1.148) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | Yathāha – ''tattha katamā kāmadhātu? Kāmapaṭisaṃyutto takko vitakko micchāsaṅkappo''ti | 欲界之第一義——唯法界 | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | Yathāha – ''heṭṭhato avīcinirayaṃ pariyantaṃ karitvā | 欲界之第二義——十八界 | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''sabbepi kusalā dhammā nekkhammadhātū''ti | 出離界通意識界之據 | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §523〕 | Tenāhu pubbācariyā – 領起之引塊 ''Cakkhurūpālokamanasikāre | 六識各依四事而生——他說，論引之而不判 | 無（自標為先師之說而不繫號） |
引式之數〔本欄實測〕 Yathāha 2 處（皆在欲界二義之段）・Tenāhu 1 處（先師之說）・Vuttañhetaṃ・Vuttampi cetaṃ・Tena vuttaṃ・Porāṇā・Keci・eke・kira 俱零命中。本文自標之圓括注出處 13 處，其分布為 vibha. 6・ma. ni. 6・dī. ni. 4・saṃ. ni. 2（有一處三標、三處雙標，各計入其數）——《分別論》與《中部》各佔其六，《分別論》之六皆在爾所門之段。此數唯就本篇之域，不及全書；十三處之中十二處集於〔CSCD §520〕一段。
論主自限其說之二處 ①〔CSCD §523〕saṅkhepo. Vitthārato pana paccayappabhedo paṭiccasamuppādaniddese āvibhavissatī（其上之 Ayamettha 為版頁記所隔）——論自陳緣之廣說不在本篇而在緣起之品。②〔CSCD §517〕Dukkhavidhānamattameva cesā, avasavattanato——論自限世間諸界之義唯是苦之施設。二處皆論主自陳，本目逐字錄其位而不代評。
五、譬喻·修辭
本目只記本篇譬喻之所在與其所配，不作文學評價。
甲・譬喻 本篇之 viya（詞界）27 見、iva 詞界 零命中（其比況之第二式作連聲形 sallamiva・sūlamiva，2 見）、sadisa 諸形 零命中——為本品二單元中比況語最密之篇，二十七見之中二十四見集於應見門一段。
| 位置 | 譬喻 | 所配之義 |
|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §517〕 | suvaṇṇarajatādidhātuyo viya suvaṇṇarajatādiṃ | 如金銀等之礦施設金銀——界施設輪迴之苦 |
| 〔CSCD §517〕 | Bhārahārehi ca bhāro viya | 如重擔為擔者所持——界為有情所持 |
| 〔CSCD §518〕 | Yathā loke vicittā haritālamanosilādayo selāvayavā dhātuyoti vuccanti | 如世間雌黃雄黃等山中之分名為界 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | bheritalaṃ viya cakkhudhātu daṭṭhabbā, daṇḍo viya rūpadhātu, saddo viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | 鼓面、桴與聲——三事和合而識生 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | ādāsatalaṃ viya cakkhudhātu, mukhaṃ viya rūpadhātu, mukhanimittaṃ viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | 鏡面、面與影 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | ucchutilā viya cakkhudhātu, yantacakkayaṭṭhi viya rūpadhātu, ucchurasatelāni viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | 甘蔗胡麻、榨機與汁油 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | adharāraṇī viya cakkhudhātu, uttarāraṇī viya rūpadhātu, aggi viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | 上下鑽木與火 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | cakkhuviññāṇadhātuādīnaṃ purecarānucarā viya daṭṭhabbā | 意界如先行與隨行者 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | vedanākkhandho sallamiva sūlamiva ca daṭṭhabbo | 受如箭如刺 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | puthujjanānaṃ vā saññā āsādukkhajananato rittamuṭṭhi viya | 凡夫之想如空拳 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Ayathābhuccanimittagāhakato vanamigo viya | 想如林鹿——取不如實之相 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Saṅkhārā paṭisandhiyaṃ pakkhipanato aṅgārakāsuyaṃ khipanakapurisā viya | 行如投人於炭火坑者 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Jāti dukkhānubandhato rājapurisānubandhacorā viya | 生如為王人所追之賊 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | khandhasantānassa hetuto visarukkhabījāni viya | 蘊相續之因如毒樹之種 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Rūpaṃ nānāvidhupaddavanimittato khuracakkaṃ viya daṭṭhabbaṃ | 色如剃刀輪 |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | araññamakkaṭo viya, duddamanato assakhaḷuṅko viya, yatthakāmanipātito vehāsakkhittadaṇḍo viya⋯raṅganaṭo viya | 意識界之四喻——猿、劣馬、擲空之杖、伶人 |
乙・修辭之可核觀察 ①本篇之骨為七門逐門之收束式：veditabbo vinicchayo 全篇實測 7 見，其領語逐門而異（義門作 Evaṃ tāvettha atthato veditabbo vinicchayo・爾所門作 Evamettha tāvatvato veditabbo vinicchayo・算門作 Evamettha saṅkhatopi veditabbo vinicchayo・緣門作 evamettha paccayatopi veditabbo vinicchayo）——逐門一收，一門不漏。②Tattha 之提示語全篇實測 2 見（Tattha – 領起七門之偈一・Tattha atthatoti 領起義門一）。③…pe… 省略式 1 見，在十八界名之略舉（cakkhu ca taṃ dhātu ca cakkhudhātu…pe… manoviññāṇañca taṃ dhātu ca manoviññāṇadhātūti）。④問句 2 見：一在所引之《分別論》文之內（tattha katamā kāmadhātu?），一為論主之自問 Kasmā?（〔CSCD §524〕，問無為界何以應見為不死寂靜安隱），其答即次句 Sabbānatthāvahassa paṭipakkhabhūtattā。⑤iti ce 式之難 1 見（〔CSCD §520〕kasmā aṭṭhārasāti ayameva paricchedo katoti ce）；同段 Kasmā, subhanimittattā 一處作短問短答而不用 ce，不入此數。⑥偈頌 2 首共 6 行（七門之偈 2 行、應機說法之偈 4 行，皆縮排四空格）；所引之經論塊 1 處（先師之語，縮排二空格）——四空格為偈、二空格為引塊之二式與蘊品一貫（本欄逐單元實測）。⑦本篇無事例（人事之比況）——所出之譬皆物之比況。
以上諸數唯就本篇之域實測，不及全書。
六、章內互讀
每指皆帶段號錨；所指之處唯就本篇文中可核之名相立——本篇之段號與章§二系不明對映，故所指不繫章§，亦不推估換算。不代考定。
| 本篇之處 | 所指 | 可核之由 |
|---|---|---|
〔CSCD §519〕 Tāni ca pana nesaṃ lakkhaṇādīni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni | 蘊之品 | 論自標其所指之品（khandhaniddese）；十八界之相味現起近因於彼品逐一已立 |
〔CSCD §523〕 Vitthārato pana paccayappabhedo paṭiccasamuppādaniddese āvibhavissatī | 緣起之品 | 論自標其所指之品（paṭiccasamuppādaniddese）並自標其為後說（āvibhavissati）——本篇之前指唯此一處明繫品名 |
〔CSCD §517〕 Tadanantarā pana dhātuyoti | 十二處之單元〔CSCD §516〕 | 前篇收句作 Idaṃ tāva āyatanānaṃ vitthārakathāmukhaṃ，本篇以 Tadanantarā（其次）逐字承之 |
〔CSCD §522〕 Dhammadhātu tiṇṇaṃ arūpakkhandhānaṃ soḷasannaṃ sukhumarūpānaṃ asaṅkhatāya ca dhātuyā vasena vīsati dhammāti | 十二處之單元〔CSCD §515〕 | 前篇之法處作 vedanāsaññāsaṅkhārakkhandhasukhumarūpanibbānānaṃ——處之法處與界之法界二處所開之目相貫而其收語不同（彼以 nibbāna 收、此以 asaṅkhatāya ca dhātuyā 收），本目誌其實不代裁 |
〔CSCD §524〕 Dhammadhātuyā vedanākkhandho sallamiva sūlamiva ca daṭṭhabbo | 蘊之品之受想行三蘊 | 受想行三蘊之相於彼品逐一已立，本篇唯以譬配之而不重釋 |
〔CSCD §523〕 Manodvāre pana bhavaṅgamanoviññāṇadhātu āvajjanamanoviññāṇadhātuyā | 十二處之單元〔CSCD §513〕 | 前篇以 bhavaṅgamanasaṅkhāto manāyatanekadesova uppattidvāraṃ 立第六識之門，與本篇意門之緣相承 |
〔CSCD §524〕 Manoviññāṇadhātu⋯araññamakkaṭo viya | 根諦之品之意根 | 次品以 sahajātadhammānaṃ attano vasavattāpanaṃ 立意根之作用，與本篇意識界之難調之譬相對——二處相貫而論未於此明繫，本目誌其實不代考定 |
七、傳本
作者、傳本與注疏源流諸問題，本編不於考據內立說。
I. Placement in the Outline
Base text This unit’s base text is CSCD (internal and not published). Every Pāli string in this layer is copied verbatim from this unit’s base-text column. The single form of location is 〔CSCD §NN〕, which can be checked word for word against that column. Because this chapter has no in-house Pāli text collated to PTS pages, no page range is recorded.
Title The base-text column carries one ### line, this unit’s section title ### Dhātuvitthārakathā (the chapter-title line is in the preceding unit and does not belong to this one). The section title and the full extent of the unit are coextensive: this unit is the whole section and also contains the chapter’s closing verse and final marker.
Paragraph-number domain The base-text column runs from 〔CSCD §517〕 through 〔CSCD §524〕. Eight paragraph numbers are actually present, and the sequence is continuous without a gap. This unit occupies 11,852 bytes in the base-text column, the larger of this chapter’s two units.
Framework of seven modes The unit’s skeleton is the Commentator’s own sevenfold analysis, whose headings are established in the verse at 〔CSCD §517〕: Atthato lakkhaṇādīhi, kama tāvatvasaṅkhato; and Paccayā atha daṭṭhabbā, veditabbo vinicchayo. The seven modes are meaning, characteristic and the rest, order, extent, enumeration, conditions, and how the elements should be seen. This column checked the location of each answer against the base-text column: meaning is answered at 〔CSCD §517〕–〔CSCD §518〕; characteristic and the rest and order are both answered at 〔CSCD §519〕; extent at 〔CSCD §520〕–〔CSCD §521〕 (uniquely long and including a verse); enumeration at 〔CSCD §522〕; conditions at 〔CSCD §523〕; and how they should be seen at 〔CSCD §524〕. Every one of the seven answers lies within this unit; none spills beyond it.
Difference between these seven modes and the preceding six The preceding unit’s analytical verse has Attha lakkhaṇa tāvatva, kama saṅkhepa vitthārā; (six modes). The present verse adds “conditions” (Paccayā) and “enumeration” (saṅkhato) and does not state “brief and detailed treatment” as a separate heading. The two frameworks succeed each other but differ in number. This section records the fact and does not adjudicate its reason.
The sole sentence answering characteristic and the rest refers to another chapter At 〔CSCD §519〕 the mode has Tāni ca pana nesaṃ lakkhaṇādīni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni: the treatise itself says that their characteristics, functions, manifestations, and proximate causes were already stated in the chapter on the aggregates and does not repeat them here. This has the same form as the preceding unit’s mode of characteristic (there it is Tāni ca pana tesaṃ lakkhaṇāni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni, differing only in tesaṃ／nesaṃ and lakkhaṇāni／lakkhaṇādīni). This section records the literal facts.
Connections before and after Before it lies the unit on the twelve bases. The present unit opens Tadanantarā pana dhātuyoti aṭṭhārasa dhātuyo: the treatise itself marks it as “next”, taking up verbatim the preceding unit’s close Idaṃ tāva āyatanānaṃ vitthārakathāmukhaṃ. After it lies the chapter on faculties and truths. This unit closes with the chapter’s final marker (Āyatanadhātuniddeso nāma and Pannarasamo paricchedo.); the first unit of the next chapter takes it up verbatim with Dhātūnaṃ … anantaraṃ uddiṭṭhāni pana indriyānīti bāvīsatindriyāni: a continuation marked by the treatise itself.
Movement The interleaf Overview assigns this unit to Movement §B, “The Eighteen Elements.” The chapter sections assigned there appear verbatim in that table; this section neither repeats nor excerpts them. The paragraph-number and chapter-section systems have no known correspondence and are neither estimated nor converted.
II. Terms and Renderings
This section records only usage and location in this unit; normative readings of terms are governed by the glossary, and this section does not determine those the glossary leaves unsettled. Readings established in earlier chapters are not re-explained. Previously established terms used here include dhātu (element), āyatana (base), manodhātu／manoviññāṇadhātu (mind element／mind-consciousness element), dhammadhātu (phenomena element), voṭṭhabbana (determining), javana (impulsion), bhavaṅga (life-continuum), cakkhupasāda (eye-sensitivity), nijjīva (lifeless), rittamuṭṭhi (empty fist), paṭisandhi (rebirth-linking), saṃsāra, kāmāvacara／rūpāvacara／arūpāvacara (sense-sphere／fine-material-sphere／immaterial-sphere), lokiya／lokuttara (mundane／supramundane), oḷārika (gross), veneyya (one to be guided), vedanā・saññā・saṅkhāra・viññāṇa (feeling・perception・formations・consciousness), and the names of the twenty-four conditions (vippayutta, purejāta, atthi, avigata, nissaya, indriya, ārammaṇa, anantara, samanantara, natthi, vigata, upanissaya, āsevana, sahajāta, aññamañña, and sampayutta). Only terms first appearing in this unit are listed below.
Names of the eighteen elements 〔CSCD §517〕
| Pāli | Rendering | Usage in this unit | Locus |
|---|---|---|---|
| cakkhudhātu・rūpadhātu・cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | eye element・visible-form element・eye-consciousness element | first three among the eighteen; the treatise explains each verbally with cakkhatīti cakkhu. Rūpayatīti rūpaṃ. Cakkhussa viññāṇaṃ cakkhuviññāṇanti | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| sotadhātu・saddadhātu・sotaviññāṇadhātu | ear element・sound element・ear-consciousness element | next three; the treatise gathers the remaining explanations under the phrase evamādinā tāva nayena rather than stating each separately | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| ghānadhātu・gandhadhātu・ghānaviññāṇadhātu | nose element・odor element・nose-consciousness element | third group | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| jivhādhātu・rasadhātu・jivhāviññāṇadhātu | tongue element・taste element・tongue-consciousness element | fourth group | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| kāyadhātu・phoṭṭhabbadhātu・kāyaviññāṇadhātu | body element・touch element・body-consciousness element | fifth group | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
Meaning of element 〔CSCD §517〕–〔CSCD §518〕
| Pāli | Rendering | Usage in this unit | Locus |
|---|---|---|---|
| vidahati・dhīyate・vidhāna・vidhīyate | arranges・is borne・an arranging・is arranged | four common explanations of element; the treatise closes them with ettha vā dhīyatīti dhātu | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| dukkhavidhānamatta | merely an arranging of suffering | the treatise’s own restriction of the meaning: worldly elements arrange only the suffering of saṃsāra, since they proceed without mastery | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| avasavattana | proceeding without mastery | the reason for the preceding expression; an element does not proceed according to its own power | 〔CSCD §517〕 |
| attano sabhāvaṃ dhārenti | bear their own intrinsic nature | first explanation of the name element, in contrast to the self posited by other sectarians | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| ñāṇañeyyāvayava | divisions of knowledge and what is known | what the second explanation of the name concerns; the elements are varied like the manifold minerals in a mountain | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| aññamaññavisabhāgalakkhaṇaparicchinna | delimited by characteristics dissimilar to one another | third explanation of the name; like the parts of a body, each has its own characteristic | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| nijjīvamatta | merely lifeless | fourth explanation of the name element; the treatise uses it to eradicate the notion of a living principle | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
| jīvasaññāsamūhanana | eradication of the notion of a living principle | the treatise’s own statement of the Blessed One’s purpose in teaching the elements | 〔CSCD §518〕 |
Their extent and teaching according to disposition 〔CSCD §520〕–〔CSCD §521〕
| Pāli | Rendering | Usage in this unit | Locus |
|---|---|---|---|
| ābhādhātu・subhadhātu | luminosity element・beautiful element | first two elements taught elsewhere; the treatise assigns the former to the visible-form element and connects the latter with visible form and the rest | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| subhanimitta | beautiful sign | the basis of the beautiful element; the treatise includes it because it does not exist apart from visible form and the rest | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu | cessation-of-perception-and-feeling element | one element taught elsewhere; the treatise says it does not exist by intrinsic nature but is only the cessation of two elements | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| hīnadhātu・majjhimadhātu・paṇītadhātu | inferior element・middle element・superior element | a threefold classification; the treatise gives both indirect and direct accounts | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| nippariyāyena | in the ultimate sense | introduces the second level of the preceding classification; following the established precedent from the chapter on dependent arising, nippariyāyena・pariyāyena are read as ultimate sense・indirect sense; this column had originally proposed “not indirectly” and records the established reading | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| sabhāvato vijjamāna | really existing by intrinsic nature | criterion for inclusion; every element really existing by intrinsic nature is included in the eighteen | 〔CSCD §520〕 |
| veneyyajjhāsaya | disposition of those to be guided | second reason for establishing eighteen: a teaching neither too brief nor too detailed is given according to the capacities of those to be guided | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
| anatisaṅkhepavitthāra | neither too brief nor too detailed | scope of the preceding expression; the unit’s verse brings it to a close | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
| saddhammateja | radiance of true Dhamma | expression in the closing verse; by it the darkness in the heart of one to be guided is destroyed | 〔CSCD §521〕 |
Enumeration and conditions 〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕
| Pāli | Rendering | Usage in this unit | Locus |
|---|---|---|---|
| saṅkhaṃ gacchati | is counted as | fixed formula of the mode of enumeration, stating how many phenomena each of the eighteen elements comprises; following the established precedent from the chapter on purification of view, this column records the reading that supersedes its earlier proposal “is enumerated as” | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| pañcadvārāvajjana | five-door adverting | one of the three phenomena in the mind element | 〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕 |
| sampaṭicchana | receiving | one of the three phenomena in the mind element and also a stage in the five-door process in the mode of conditions | 〔CSCD §522〕–〔CSCD §523〕 |
| santīraṇa | investigating | a stage in the five-door process in the mode of conditions, belonging to the mind-consciousness element | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
| vīsati dhammā | twenty phenomena | count of the phenomena element: three immaterial aggregates, sixteen kinds of subtle materiality, and the unconditioned element | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| chasattati dhammā | seventy-six phenomena | count of the mind-consciousness element: the remaining wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate consciousnesses | 〔CSCD §522〕 |
| āloka・vivara・vāyu・āpa・pathavī | light・aperture・air・water・earth | the distinct third conditions for the five consciousnesses in the statement of the earlier teachers | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
| pubbācariyā | earlier teachers | marker for the cited view of others; it occurs only once in this unit | 〔CSCD §523〕 |
Similes in the mode of how they should be seen 〔CSCD §524〕
| Pāli | Rendering | Usage in this unit | Locus |
|---|---|---|---|
| pubbantāparantavivitta | devoid of a prior and later limit | one of the general marks in the mode of how they should be seen | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| bheritala・daṇḍa | drumhead・drumstick | first two members of the first simile, applied to the eye and visible-form elements | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| ādāsatala・mukhanimitta | mirror surface・reflected image of a face | two members of the second simile | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| ucchutila・yantacakkayaṭṭhi・ucchurasatela | sugarcane and sesame・wheel and shaft of a press・sugarcane juice and sesame oil | three members of the third simile | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| adharāraṇī・uttarāraṇī | lower fire stick・upper fire stick | first two members of the fourth simile, with fire as the simile for the eye-consciousness element | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| purecara・anucara | forerunner・follower | simile for the mind element, which occurs before and after the five consciousness elements | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| sallā・sūla | arrow・thorn | similes for the feeling aggregate within the phenomena element | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| vanamigo | deer in the forest | simile for perception, which apprehends a sign contrary to reality | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| aṅgārakāsu | pit of glowing coals | simile for formations, which cast a person into rebirth-linking | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| visarukkhabīja | seed of a poisonous tree | simile for birth as the cause of the aggregate-continuity | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| khuracakka | razor wheel | simile for materiality as a sign of manifold calamity | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
| araññamakkaṭo・assakhaḷuṅko・vehāsakkhittadaṇḍo・raṅganaṭo | monkey in the forest・bad horse・stick thrown into the air・actor on a stage | four similes for the mind-consciousness element | 〔CSCD §524〕 |
Three points to be read together (1) Each name of the eighteen elements is a compound of two established readings: the reading of -dhātu follows the glossary’s established dhātu (element), and those of the six internal names beginning with cakkhu and six external names beginning with rūpa follow the list determined in the chapter on the aggregates. The three names manodhātu, manoviññāṇadhātu, and dhammadhātu were established in earlier rulings and are not re-established here. (2) The four words ghāna (nose), kāya (body), phoṭṭhabba (touch), and rasa (taste) have no independent entries in previous rulings (as found by this column’s word-by-word comparison). This unit presents them together within their compound names; the reading of each single word is left to the wise who come after. (3) The names of the twenty-four conditions appear densely in compound form in this unit (for example, vippayuttapurejātaatthiavigatanissayindriyapaccayānaṃ concatenates six conditions in one word). Their established readings belong to preceding rulings, not to this unit. This section records only where they occur and does not explain them anew.
III. Variant Readings
Material available This unit has no in-house Pāli text collated to PTS pages, so there is no collation passage to record. The only searchable surface is the base-text column itself. Readings are recorded, not adjudicated.
Results of a complete scan A word-for-word scan of the entire base-text column found zero occurrences of variant-note forms such as (sī.), (syā.), (kaṃ.), and (pī.); zero occurrences of the variant-recitation marker pāṭho; and zero occurrences of the alternative-view markers Porāṇā and porāṇā (the marker for another view in this unit is pubbācariyā, a different family). Square brackets occur in only two forms: eight [§NN] paragraph numbers and eleven edition-page markers, all of the latter inside notes. When the search finds nothing, nothing is recorded: the base-text column itself contains no notice of a variant reading.
Quotation-mark symmetry The complete unit contains 26 occurrences of '', an even number. They cluster in the enumeration of other elements at 〔CSCD §520〕, where the quotation marks open and close repeatedly more than ten times within one list. Checked individually, every occurrence is paired, with none asymmetric.
One literal inconsistency within this column In the list of other elements at 〔CSCD §520〕, parenthetical references appear sometimes inside the quotation marks and sometimes outside them. In the sequence ''pathavīdhātu, āpodhātu, tejodhātu, vāyodhātu (dī. ni. 3.311), ākāsadhātu, viññāṇadhātu'', the parenthetical reference falls inside the quotation before the list has ended, whereas the references for the other lists occur after the closing quotation marks. The wording is recorded without alteration or relocation.
Scope of this column All findings above are literal facts of the base-text column; This column has not been collated against the scanned PTS pages. Zero occurrences here apply only to the single surface of the base-text column and do not support an inference about other editions.
IV. The Commentator’s Citations
Each passage cited by the Commentator is attached to a paragraph-number anchor. A source is recorded only when identified by the text itself; this column does not determine one on its behalf. Parenthetical references in “Source identified by the text itself” are copied verbatim and their titles are not translated.
| Location | Citation Formula [Verbatim] | Point Cited | Source Identified by the Text Itself |
|---|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §518〕 | bhagavā ''cha dhāturo ayaṃ bhikkhu puriso''tiādīsu | the person of six elements—the basis for the teaching on elements by the Blessed One in order to eradicate the notion of a living principle | (ma. ni. 3.344) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''ābhādhātu, subhadhātu, ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu | list of seven elements | (saṃ. ni. 2.95) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''kāmadhātu⋯avihiṃsādhātu'' | list of six elements beginning with sensuality and ending with harmlessness | (vibha. 182; dī. ni. 3.305; ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''sukhadhātu, dukkhadhātu, somanassadhātu, domanassadhātu, upekkhādhātu, avijjādhātu'' | six elements of feeling and ignorance | (vibha. 180; ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''ārambhadhātu, nikkamadhātu, parakkamadhātu'' | three elements of energy | (saṃ. ni. 5.183) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''hīnadhātu, majjhimadhātu, paṇītadhātu'' | three elements: inferior, middle, and superior | (dī. ni. 3.305) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''pathavīdhātu, āpodhātu, tejodhātu, vāyodhātu | the four great elements and the two elements of space and consciousness | (dī. ni. 3.311) and (ma. ni. 3.125; vibha. 172) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''saṅkhatadhātu, asaṅkhatadhātu'' | conditioned and unconditioned elements | (ma. ni. 3.125) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''anekadhātu nānādhātu loko''ti | world of many and diverse elements | (dī. ni. 2.366; ma. ni. 1.148) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | Yathāha – ''tattha katamā kāmadhātu? Kāmapaṭisaṃyutto takko vitakko micchāsaṅkappo''ti | first meaning of the sensuality element—the phenomena element alone | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | Yathāha – ''heṭṭhato avīcinirayaṃ pariyantaṃ karitvā | second meaning of the sensuality element—all eighteen elements | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §520〕 | ''sabbepi kusalā dhammā nekkhammadhātū''ti | basis for including the renunciation element in the mind-consciousness element | (vibha. 182) |
| 〔CSCD §523〕 | Tenāhu pubbācariyā – introducing the cited block ''Cakkhurūpālokamanasikāre | each of the six consciousnesses arises dependent on four things—a view of others that the treatise cites without adjudication | none (identified as a statement of the earlier teachers but not assigned a number) |
Number of citation formulas [direct measurement in this column] Yathāha occurs twice (both in the passage on two meanings of the sensuality element); Tenāhu occurs once (the statement of the earlier teachers); Vuttañhetaṃ, Vuttampi cetaṃ, Tena vuttaṃ, Porāṇā, Keci, eke, and kira all occur zero times. The text itself gives thirteen parenthetical source references: vibha. six, ma. ni. six, dī. ni. four, and saṃ. ni. two (one entry carries three references and three carry two; each is counted in every total it belongs to). Thus the Vibhaṅga and the Majjhima each account for six, and all six Vibhaṅga references fall in the passage on the mode of extent. These counts apply only to this unit, not the whole work; twelve of the thirteen references cluster in the single paragraph 〔CSCD §520〕.
Two places where the Commentator limits his own account (1) At 〔CSCD §523〕, saṅkhepo. Vitthārato pana paccayappabhedo paṭiccasamuppādaniddese āvibhavissatī (its preceding Ayamettha is separated by an edition-page marker): the Commentator himself says that the detailed treatment of conditions belongs not to this unit but to the chapter on dependent arising. (2) At 〔CSCD §517〕, Dukkhavidhānamattameva cesā, avasavattanato: the Commentator restricts the meaning of the world’s elements to merely an arranging of suffering. Both are the Commentator’s own statements; this section records their locations verbatim and does not evaluate them on his behalf.
V. Similes and Rhetoric
This section records only the location of each simile and what it is applied to; it makes no literary evaluation.
A. Similes The word-boundary form viya occurs 27 times in this unit; word-boundary iva occurs zero times (the second form of comparison instead appears in sandhi as sallamiva and sūlamiva, two occurrences), and forms of sadisa occur zero times. This is the unit with the greatest density of comparative expressions among the chapter’s two units: twenty-four of the twenty-seven occurrences cluster in the single passage on how the elements should be seen.
| Location | Simile | Meaning to Which It Is Applied |
|---|---|---|
| 〔CSCD §517〕 | suvaṇṇarajatādidhātuyo viya suvaṇṇarajatādiṃ | as mines of gold and silver arrange gold and silver, so the elements arrange the suffering of saṃsāra |
| 〔CSCD §517〕 | Bhārahārehi ca bhāro viya | as a burden is borne by bearers, the elements are borne by beings |
| 〔CSCD §518〕 | Yathā loke vicittā haritālamanosilādayo selāvayavā dhātuyoti vuccanti | as the varied parts of mountain stone in the world, such as orpiment and realgar, are called elements |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | bheritalaṃ viya cakkhudhātu daṭṭhabbā, daṇḍo viya rūpadhātu, saddo viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | drumhead, drumstick, and sound—the consciousness arises through the conjunction of three things |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | ādāsatalaṃ viya cakkhudhātu, mukhaṃ viya rūpadhātu, mukhanimittaṃ viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | mirror surface, face, and reflection |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | ucchutilā viya cakkhudhātu, yantacakkayaṭṭhi viya rūpadhātu, ucchurasatelāni viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | sugarcane and sesame, press, and juice and oil |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | adharāraṇī viya cakkhudhātu, uttarāraṇī viya rūpadhātu, aggi viya cakkhuviññāṇadhātu | upper and lower fire sticks and fire |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | cakkhuviññāṇadhātuādīnaṃ purecarānucarā viya daṭṭhabbā | the mind element as forerunner and follower |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | vedanākkhandho sallamiva sūlamiva ca daṭṭhabbo | feeling as an arrow and thorn |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | puthujjanānaṃ vā saññā āsādukkhajananato rittamuṭṭhi viya | an ordinary person’s perception as an empty fist |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Ayathābhuccanimittagāhakato vanamigo viya | perception as a deer in the forest—apprehending a sign contrary to reality |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Saṅkhārā paṭisandhiyaṃ pakkhipanato aṅgārakāsuyaṃ khipanakapurisā viya | formations as people who cast someone into a pit of glowing coals |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Jāti dukkhānubandhato rājapurisānubandhacorā viya | birth as a thief pursued by the king’s men |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | khandhasantānassa hetuto visarukkhabījāni viya | the cause of aggregate-continuity as the seed of a poisonous tree |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | Rūpaṃ nānāvidhupaddavanimittato khuracakkaṃ viya daṭṭhabbaṃ | materiality as a razor wheel |
| 〔CSCD §524〕 | araññamakkaṭo viya, duddamanato assakhaḷuṅko viya, yatthakāmanipātito vehāsakkhittadaṇḍo viya⋯raṅganaṭo viya | four similes for the mind-consciousness element: monkey, bad horse, stick thrown into the air, and actor |
B. Verifiable rhetorical observations (1) The unit’s skeleton is the closing formula for each of the seven modes. veditabbo vinicchayo occurs seven times in the unit, with a different lead-in for each mode: meaning has Evaṃ tāvettha atthato veditabbo vinicchayo; extent has Evamettha tāvatvato veditabbo vinicchayo; enumeration has Evamettha saṅkhatopi veditabbo vinicchayo; and conditions has evamettha paccayatopi veditabbo vinicchayo. Each mode closes in turn, with none omitted. (2) The cue Tattha occurs twice: one Tattha – introduces the verse on seven modes, and one Tattha atthatoti introduces the mode of meaning. (3) The abbreviation …pe… occurs once, in the abbreviated enumeration of the eighteen names (cakkhu ca taṃ dhātu ca cakkhudhātu…pe… manoviññāṇañca taṃ dhātu ca manoviññāṇadhātūti). (4) A question mark occurs twice: once inside the cited Vibhaṅga passage (tattha katamā kāmadhātu?) and once in the Commentator’s own question Kasmā? at 〔CSCD §524〕, asking why the unconditioned element should be seen as deathless, peace, and security; the next sentence, Sabbānatthāvahassa paṭipakkhabhūtattā, is its answer. (5) The difficulty construction with iti ce occurs once: 〔CSCD §520〕 has kasmā aṭṭhārasāti ayameva paricchedo katoti ce; the same paragraph has the short question and answer Kasmā, subhanimittattā, without ce, which is not counted here. (6) There are two verses totaling six lines (the two-line verse on seven modes and the four-line verse on teaching according to disposition, both indented four spaces) and one indented block of cited teaching (the statement of the earlier teachers, indented two spaces). The use of four spaces for verses and two for a cited block is consistent with the chapter on the aggregates (direct measurement by unit in this column). (7) The unit contains no narrative example involving a person; all its similes compare things.
All counts above apply only to this unit, not the whole work.
VI. Intratextual Cross-Reading
Every pointer carries a paragraph-number anchor. Each target is established only from names and statements verifiable in this unit. No correspondence is known between this unit’s paragraph-number and chapter-section systems, so the pointers do not attach chapter sections, estimate, or convert them. This column does not determine them on another source’s behalf.
| Place in This Unit | Target | Verifiable Basis |
|---|---|---|
〔CSCD §519〕 Tāni ca pana nesaṃ lakkhaṇādīni khandhaniddese vuttanayeneva veditabbāni | chapter on the aggregates | the treatise itself names the chapter to which it refers (khandhaniddese); the characteristics, functions, manifestations, and proximate causes of the eighteen elements were established there one by one |
〔CSCD §523〕 Vitthārato pana paccayappabhedo paṭiccasamuppādaniddese āvibhavissatī | chapter on dependent arising | the treatise itself names the chapter to which it refers (paṭiccasamuppādaniddese) and marks it as a future account (āvibhavissati). This is the only forward pointer in the unit that expressly names its chapter. |
〔CSCD §517〕 Tadanantarā pana dhātuyoti | unit on the twelve bases, 〔CSCD §516〕 | the preceding unit closes Idaṃ tāva āyatanānaṃ vitthārakathāmukhaṃ, and this unit takes it up verbatim with Tadanantarā (next) |
〔CSCD §522〕 Dhammadhātu tiṇṇaṃ arūpakkhandhānaṃ soḷasannaṃ sukhumarūpānaṃ asaṅkhatāya ca dhātuyā vasena vīsati dhammāti | unit on the twelve bases, 〔CSCD §515〕 | the preceding unit’s phenomena base has vedanāsaññāsaṅkhārakkhandhasukhumarūpanibbānānaṃ. The contents unfolded under the phenomena base and phenomena element correspond, but their closing terms differ (the former closes with nibbāna, the latter with asaṅkhatāya ca dhātuyā). This section records the fact and does not adjudicate it. |
〔CSCD §524〕 Dhammadhātuyā vedanākkhandho sallamiva sūlamiva ca daṭṭhabbo | the feeling, perception, and formations aggregates in the chapter on the aggregates | the characteristics of those three aggregates were individually established there; this unit applies similes to them without explaining them anew |
〔CSCD §523〕 Manodvāre pana bhavaṅgamanoviññāṇadhātu āvajjanamanoviññāṇadhātuyā | unit on the twelve bases, 〔CSCD §513〕 | the preceding unit establishes the sixth consciousness’s door with bhavaṅgamanasaṅkhāto manāyatanekadesova uppattidvāraṃ, which is continued by this unit’s conditions at the mind door |
〔CSCD §524〕 Manoviññāṇadhātu⋯araññamakkaṭo viya | mind faculty in the chapter on faculties and truths | the next chapter establishes the mind faculty’s function with sahajātadhammānaṃ attano vasavattāpanaṃ, to be read against this unit’s simile of the difficult-to-tame mind-consciousness element. The two passages correspond, but the treatise does not expressly link them here. This section records the fact and does not determine it on its behalf. |
VII. Transmission
This edition takes no position in its apparatus on questions of authorship, textual transmission, or the lineages of the commentaries.